A/N: I wanted to thank everyone who has followed, favorited or reviewed this story, especially those who have been reading it since the beginning and never fail to show their interest in its progression. Enjoy chapter 22! Stay safe!

I had turned on some gentle music to mask the sound of footfalls as I paced around my bedroom. It may have been an unnecessary precaution since it was far too late for my parents to be up. They both had a tendency to turn in early, but I still didn't want to have to explain myself if I accidentally woke one of them up. My consistent steps back and forth were far more likely to disturb Carter due to our adjoining rooms, but I couldn't bring myself to care all that much. It wasn't a school night anyways, so he could deal with a couple fewer hours of the beauty sleep that he so desperately needed.

I might have been more inclined to be considerate if I wasn't still reeling from my interaction with Jasper earlier that same day. Sure, we had flirted before, but it had never been so blatant. And even then, it had mostly been him. It was probably a stupid thing to overthink, as neither of us were really keeping our attraction a secret at this point.

Attraction. It seemed inconceivable that Jasper was apparently attracted to me. I guessed he'd never outright said it, but the way he described the whole mate bond thing seemed to suggest that attraction was a key part of it. It certainly was on my end.

We'd kissed, for God's sake. Twice! I didn't really count the extremely awkward first kiss, which could possibly be my most embarrassing moment on Earth thus far. I tried to remind myself that the other two should certainly convince me that Jasper felt the same sort of attraction to me as I did towards him.

Attraction wasn't even what was keeping me awake. It was that stupid smirk that I saw every time I closed my eyes, or those amber eyes that seemed to dare me to partake in his little games, even though he was sure that he'd win every time.

It was his teasing suggestion that we were more than friends that was really driving me insane. It was like he'd known that I couldn't stop asking myself that exact same question. Sure, we were mates or whatever, but did that automatically put you in a relationship or something? It wasn't exactly like they wrote guidebooks on this sort of thing. Human-vampire relationship advice was remarkably hard to come by.

I hadn't even really considered a real relationship with Jasper. I paused for a moment, willing myself to imagine what it might be like. I frowned. It was remarkably hard to imagine going on dates with Jasper, having him at Christmas dinner. Something like that, calling him my boyfriend didn't seem right. It was an injustice to put such an extraordinary person who opened my eyes to an entire new world in such an ordinary role.

It seemed almost childish. His existence went deeper than all that. It was far more intense, transcending any label that was so human. Everything about him pulled me in on a level that I had never experienced before.

It was endlessly annoying that even though I could admit all that, we truly were technically only friends at this point.

But when I thought back to this afternoon, the way he had gently tugged on my hair, the way his eyes always seemed to be swimming with words unspoken, it was clear that he was anything but a friend to me.

The twist in my gut that wasn't at all unpleasant as I recalled his closeness was maddening. I muffled my frustrated scream as I bunched my hair between my fists, still wet from the cold shower I'd taken in a fruitless attempt to banish the effect that Jasper's boldness had had on me.

I would have sold my soul at that point to whoever could explain how to navigate a mate bond.

I could have sworn that my heart actually stopped when two quick taps sounded from my window, pulling me from my inner monologue.

Speak of the devil. Think of the devil? I wasn't sure. Either way, nothing could have prepared me to see Jasper himself, or rather just his face in the window. The darkness made it impossible to see anything beyond that.

I stared at him dumbly for a minute, my mind seeming to not fully register that he was actually there. He smiled, albeit a little awkwardly.

I blinked, surprised that he was still there when my eyes opened, apparently not just a figment of my borderline obsessive imagination.

I made sure to lock both doors leading to my bedroom before padding over to my window, cringing at the way it squeaked when opened.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, kneeling on the bench of the bay window, surprised at the way he was perched on the tree beside my window. The branch was far too thin for someone that was anything less than inhuman be able to balance on so comfortably.

"Well, hello to you too."

"Don't even try to act like this is normal," I said, not sure whether I should be happy to see him or if I should get the canister of pepper spray that Bella had given me, one of many that her dad had insisted she kept.

He grinned. "Alright, so maybe it's a little odd."

A look from me ensured that he knew it was far more than just a little odd.

"I wanted to see you," He said, his voice changing, holding less of his trademark joking tone and more of an abashed honesty.

"Oh." I wished with all that I was that I could summon a better response, but I always found myself taken aback such genuineness.

There was something funny about the way that Jasper and I could flirt so openly, pushing the boundaries of our relationship constantly, yet one transparent admission could reduce us both to awkward silences.

"I could go, if you want," Jasper offered, trailing off. It didn't really seem like he hoped I'd take him up on the offer.

"Oh, no- no, stay. Its fine."

"I can't help but feel that I interrupted something."

I flushed, wondering how much of my outburst he'd seen. My blush must have been telling enough for him to want to know more.

He grinned. "I don't suppose any amount of pleading on my part will get you to enlighten me, hm?"

"Not a chance."

"Always so difficult," He said teasingly.

"I just think that far too many people have indulged you for your own good." I once again studied his impressive balance. "Do you need to be invited in or something?"

He snorted as if the specific rules of vampirism were common knowledge. "That's not a thing."

I rolled my eyes, a vague gesture into my room being the politest invitation that he was going to get.

"I don't think that would be very… appropriate."

I deadpanned. "Are you serious?"

He didn't move.

"I don't think that you're going to pounce on me or anything," I said.

His smirk returned with a vengeance as he wiggled his brows at me. "Maybe it's not my self-control that I'm worried about."

"I will push you out of this window."

He laughed, and he must have sensed my worry that someone would hear us.

"I'll be able to tell if anyone wakes up."

That was certainly a benefit of Jasper being a vampire. As much as his senses damned me and squandered all chances of trying to seem nonchalant about whatever was going on between us, I'd be lying if I said that they weren't also useful.

I nodded. "Well, I don't really care about the extent you're willing to go to for your gentlemanly reputation. That just doesn't look comfortable."

"Comfort isn't really a concern for my kind."

Rolling my eyes seemed to be an incredibly frequent occurrence when Jasper was around. "At least sit on the windowsill. That doesn't even really count as coming in."

He must have found my reasoning to be sound, as he gracefully hopped from his spot on the limb to my windowsill, the impact of his feet on the old wood making hardly more than a whisper of sound.

I got up from my seat to grab a blanket from the end of my bed, forgetting that I had been wearing pajamas. An amused glance downward from Jasper made it clear that he hadn't.

"Cute," he said, taking in my pajama pants plastered with tiny hearts and flowers.

I was grateful that I had least bothered to throw on a pair of pants and hadn't been walking around in my underwear. I threw my blanket at him, content to have wiped the expression from his face. It was unfortunate that his senses allowed him to catch it deftly, but his faux offense made up for it.

I plopped back down in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest to cover the old graphic t-shirt that I'd had since middle school.

The gentleness with which he draped the quilt over my legs as he settled into a seated position at the windowsill made me almost regret throwing it so hard.

I realized that it was rather lucky that Carter had stolen the bigger room that had rightfully been mine. The window in this one was large enough to accommodate even Jasper, who was able to stretch out his legs across the length of the windowsill without trouble.

"It was for you, too," I said, leaning forward to cover his legs with it as well.

He seemed taken aback at the gesture, and I wondered if it was really so foreign to him to have people consider him in that way. I settled once more, my back leaning against the wall of the small alcove.

"It's weird seeing you here," I said, if only to break the silence. "You seem so out of place."

"And here I thought you imagined me in your bedroom often," He said, tsking in disappointment.

I lifted a foot from beneath our shared blanket, reminding him that me shoving him out of the window was still a very real threat.

He raised his hands in surrender. "What are you doing awake, anyways?"

I quirked a brow. "Do you normally come around while I'm asleep?" I asked.

He hesitated, having talked himself into a corner. "Well, not in like- a creepy way or anything. Sometimes I'll just come by to make sure that you're- well, you know, safe and all."

The corner of my mouth quirked upwards. "Remember that time I accused you of being a stalker in Port Angeles?"

He nodded.

"I think it might have been a more accurate assessment than I'd realized."

He snorted, diverting his gaze out the window.

"That's nice, though. In a different sort of way. Thank you." I was surprised to find that I meant it. The thought of him going through the trouble to make sure I was alright was-sort of sweet, I guess.

"I've got a lot of free time, as you know," He said. "It's harder than you might think to not spend all of it wondering about you."

I hoped that my blush wasn't obvious in the dim lighting.

"I was thinking." I said, answering his earlier question. "I usually stay up sort of late anyways, but I was thinking this time."

He faced me once more, not even having to voice his question.

It was my turn to look out into the inky dark to avoid his stare, grinning wryly as I did so.

"Don't make me say it."

Even as I refused to meet his gaze, I could see his small smile within my peripheral. His smiles, usually accompanied by a teasing remark, captured my attention even more when they were simply genuine.

"Good to know I'm not the only one."

Seeing such an innocent smile from him made my heart stutter. And this time, I wasn't even sure I minded if he heard or not.

The sound of the classical music that I had been playing was the only sound that disrupted those of the night as we lapsed into silence. I drew my knees up to my chest, hugging them as a cool breeze gently tousled my hair.

I would have been perfectly content to sit like this forever. When he was here next to me, I couldn't be bothered to worry about the specifics of what we were. We simply were. Our silence wasn't at all uncomfortable, and the sounds of the lulling music and breeze filled the air between us just as well as conversation could have.

Despite its tranquility, I eventually broke the silence.

"I've always liked the nighttime."

His glance spurred me to continue.

"It was always the most peaceful time I could find when things were too hectic. I always thought it was the prettiest, too. I liked the way the moonlight made everything all silvery. And even if you're alone, something about it is... companionable, I guess. Whenever I couldn't sleep, I'd open my window and just stare up at the sky. The moon." I didn't mention how often that had happened. How the nightmares from the car wreck had kept me from getting a decent night's sleep for years. How the cold breeze had soothed me even on nights when I couldn't stop tears from falling. "Sometimes I'd fall asleep right there at the window, and my parents would find me there in the morning and tell me off for letting the heat out." I huffed out a laugh when I considered how much they had probably paid to heat the front lawn.

Jasper smiled, if a bit solemnly. My reminiscing had brought up emotions that I'd forgotten to bother to hide from him behind a layer of something else as I usually did. I gently pushed them away, the hollow feeling that they brought up not at all pleasant.

Jasper reached for my hand and gently took it, holding my fingers in between his. His thumb brushed over my knuckles with an unimaginable tenderness, leaving a trail of coolness in its wake. He didn't ask, even though I knew he'd felt it. I was grateful for that.

He didn't try to take it away, or talk it away, no matter how much he may have wanted to. I wondered how he knew I couldn't face it yet. No, instead he simply offered his silent comfort, even though he hadn't any idea of what thoughts had brought on such sudden poignancy.

And sitting there with Jasper, as I allowed him to feel just a hint of the past, a shadow of what I had been edging around letting him see since we'd met, I felt like I might be ready one day. To show him the darker truth that I pretended wasn't there, so desperately trying to hide it behind a veil of normalcy.

And I couldn't exactly place it, but I felt that somewhere in his touch, there was a sort of assurance. That he'd wait. And when the time came, he would listen.

I remembered how he'd reacted to my own questioning of his past. How his back had straightened even further beyond his constantly perfectly posture, how tense the atmosphere had gotten inside the car. The strained smile he'd given me as I'd taken his stiff hand. I knew that he had his darkness in his past, and I wondered what memories of his that my own musings of sadder times had brought up. I squeezed his cool hand gently, hoping that he knew I'd wait, too.

My smile might have been a little sad, and a little small, but I meant it.

Neither of us broke the silence this time. I had no idea how long we'd sat together just like that before the gentle music had lulled me to sleep, but with the coolness of Jasper's hand on mine and his scent lingering in the air, I drifted off with a real, gentle smile for the first time in as long as I could remember.

A/N: So, we have some progress with being more open with feelings, even if it seems slight. The song that I had imagined playing towards the end was the (calmer) Davy Jones music box theme, (which probably is what made this chapter a little angstier, lol). Anyways, I highly recommend listening to it when reading the later part of this chapter, as I think it sort of encompasses the mood of their conversation well. I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a review : )